Jeremiah 22:8
6 For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, like the summit of Lebanon; but I will surely turn you into a desert, like cities that are uninhabited.
7 I will appoint destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut down the choicest of your cedars and throw them into the fire.
And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
9 Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”
10 Do not weep for the dead king; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for the one who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
- KJV
- And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?
- WEB
- “Many nations will pass by this city, and they will each ask his neighbor, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this great city?’
- ASV
- And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus unto this great city?
- DARBY
- And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus unto this great city?
- BLB
- And many nations will pass by this city, and each man will say to his neighbor, ‘Upon what has YHWH done thus to this great city?
- ÅB
- Og mange hedninger skal gå forbi denne by og si til hverandre: Hvorfor har Herren gjort så med denne store by?
- OTB
- “Mange nasjoner vil passere forbi denne byen og si til hverandre: ‘Hvorfor har Herren gjort dette mot en så stor by?’
- B1930
- Og mange hedninger skal gå forbi denne by og si til hverandre: Hvorfor har Herren gjort så med denne store by?
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
1 Kings 9:8–9
And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’
Read in context2 Chronicles 7:20–22
then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.
Read in contextDeuteronomy 29:23–26
All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.
Read in contextLamentations 2:15–17
All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”
Read in contextJeremiah 16:10
When you tell these people all these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our guilt? What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’
Read in contextLamentations 4:12
The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any people of the world, that an enemy or a foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
Read in contextDaniel 9:7
To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.
Read in context